1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is hydro-demolition devices and methods for cuffing openings into structural surfaces.
2. Related Art
Hydraulic demolition—or hydro-demolition—is a well known art practiced by forcing an erosive material, generally a liquid such as water, through nozzles at sufficiently high pressure to produce a jet stream that disintegrates the constituent building material, normally concrete, of which buildings and structures are made.
“Structure” and “structural” are used herein to refer to any building, reactor, dam, tower, bridge, roadway, paved surface, or other entity having at least one surface that can be disintegrated by hydro-demolition techniques.
The term “structural surface” as used herein includes vertical walls, angled walls, curved walls, horizontal floors and decks, and any type of structural surface regardless of orientation or function that is amenable to having an opening cut therein by the apparatus and method disclosed below.
The terms “cut,” “cutting,” and “cutter,” etc. as used herein refer to the use of hydro-demolition technology to remove structural material, often concrete, from a structural surface.
The term “opening” is used herein to refer to a hole that is cut into a structural surface, including a hole that does not completely penetrate the surface. The term “sides” when used without a modifier refers to the interior surfaces of such an opening, including the top, bottom, and lateral sides of the interior of the opening. The term “facet” is used to evoke the analogy of the angled, planar surface of a cut gem. “Facet” is used herein to refer to generally planar areas, angled with respect to each other and/or to unfaceted areas, cut into the sides of an opening by the invention as disclosed below. “Facet-cutter,” “hydro-demolition facet-cutter,” and “facet-cutting apparatus” are used interchangeably herein to refer to a hydro-demolition apparatus that can be used to cut facets in the sides of an opening, as set forth in this disclosure.
Hydro-demolition technology is often employed to cut openings in walls and other surfaces, and a number of hydro-demolition machines and techniques have been developed for these purposes. For instance, in the field of nuclear reactors it is periodically necessary to remove large pieces of equipment such as generators from the interior of the reactor for maintenance or replacement. In order to do this, it is often more economical to cut an opening in the wall of the reactor and remove the equipment through the opening rather than disassemble the equipment and take it out piece by piece through the back door, so to speak. Because hundreds of nuclear reactors are approaching or have exceeded their expected life spans, there is an increasing demand on technology that provides access to the interior of reactors. Given the thickness and structural complexity of reactor walls and given the distance above the ground the openings have to be cut, these demands represent formidable challenges.
In many cases the opening required is simply a square hole with four flat interior sides that are normal to each other or facing each other. Such simple openings can be cut with standard hydro-demolition nozzle assemblies where the nozzles are held in a fixed orientation approximately normal to the work-face. But often the opening that is required is much more complex than what can be produced by the standard nozzle assemblies. For instance, depending on the dimensions and profile of the equipment being removed from the interior of a reactor, in order to get the equipment through the wall, the sides of the opening may require multiple facets that form complex angles with each other. Complicating this problem is the fact that such complex openings are often cut into walls that are 3 feet or more thick. Thus, the nozzle head must be able to move deeper and deeper into the opening whilst maintaining the required angle of the facet.
With currently existing hydro-demolition equipment, in order to cut such facets it is necessary to either custom build facet cutters to match the facet to be cut, or else disassemble and re-assemble the standard hydro-demolition cutters to produce each facet. This adds to the cost and complexity of a job. With respect to nuclear reactors, millions of dollars per day may be lost while the reactor is down; consequently, each hour that can be saved during the cutting process has a very substantial financial impact.
Upon reading this disclosure, it will be appreciated that the invention is most precisely disclosed, defined, and claimed with reference to the types of motions and/or orientations of the various elements rather than the elements themselves. It will also be appreciated that the novel arrangement and combination of known elements disclosed herein results in both benefits and functions previously unknown in the art.
As used herein the term “axial” refers to movement about or around an axis, and does not include movement along an axis. The term “rotator” is used to mean a device or mechanism that produces axial movement of an element or component-group. The term “rectilinear” is used to denote linear movement, generally the movement of one element along or parallel to the linear axis of another element. The term “driver” is used to mean a device or mechanism that produces rectilinear movement of an element or component-group. The terms “rotator” and “driver” include the necessary drive components, if any, such as belts, chains, worm gears and the like. Such drive components are well known and one of skill in the art will immediately know how to employ them in the rotators and drivers disclosed herein without undue experimentation. The terms “rotator” and “driver” also include the necessary energy sources such as electric motors and hydraulic pumps and motors required to produce the movement, as will also be well understood by those of skill in the art. The term “remotely,” as in “to remotely control,” means that a driver or rotator is controlled from a distance by manipulating the controls of a control device.